the kiss

he takes lip to powdered lip
and breathes - it is enough:
his voice runs chains of desire
that wrap me up and tighten
across brain, muscle, organ:
i his being entire
yet deep within these flickers of caress incarnate under ceaseless layers of greying blazer
and stubborn starches of shirt
embedded tight inside the kernel of the core of self
i can hear echoes of heartbeat, and clutch Illustration by Amy Teh
to yearnings to break his swollen touch
Juliette Bretan is a first year English Literature student at Murray Edwards College